THIS year's NAB AFL Draft could be shaping as one of the best ever, according to League officials.

Speaking at Telstra Dome on the final day of the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, national talent manager Kevin Sheehan said the class of 2008 would provide plenty of talent for all 16 clubs.

"I think it’s going to be a very good draft," Sheehan said.

"The first round [will be] terribly even. There’s 25 guys that you could argue could go into the first round [of picks].

"And then it’s all fairly subjective at this minute but you mark your card and you say, I say in my view, there’s 55 players here that you’d be pretty happy to have at your footy club.

"But we’re probably two-thirds of the way through the analysis. The clubs will then look through finals, see how guys unfold having had this experience, they’ll then go to draft camp, look for more detail, interview players, so there’s all that process to go.

"So at this stage it’s just a work in progress, but I think the clubs would be saying they’re rapt in the bigger players particularly … there’s a good band of key-position players and ruckmen that are on display."

Sheehan said initial feedback from AFL clubs had seen this year’s revised format receive a thumbs-up, with the spacing between matches having helped scouts digest the volume of information following matches.

It has also given more players a chance to impress on the national stage, with 21 matches featured as opposed to 12 games in previous years – a result of division two sides being able to qualify and win their way through to the division one finals.

"It’s really been stretched out over a number of months and the plus with that [is that] guys who have been injured back at the start … have been able to then fight back and present themselves," Sheehan said.

"So we’ve really seen an extra 40 players play in this championship – that’s a huge bonus to the clubs."